JO-ANN STRAUSS

Based: Cape Town

Jo-Ann Strauss won Miss South Africa in 2000 and that was just the start of her fairytale-like journey. She graduated from Stellenbosch University with a B.Comm (Law) degree, went on to present Pasella and then Top Billing and also presented for ZDF, Europe’s largest TV station during the World Cup. She even appeared on the show “Wetten, dass…?” as a guest alongside Nicole and Lionel Ritchie and then co-hosted the “Kick-Off Concert” with the legendary German TV-Star, Thomas Gottschalk.

She has filled four passports traveling the world for the show “Top Billing” which is soon to be aired in the USA too. Countless stars like George Clooney, Charlize Theron and Elton John have been interviewed by her and she’s even shared the catwalk with Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell in Barcelona as part of a charitable fashion show for Nelson Mandela. As the face of Lux, she joined the ranks of stars like Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sarah-Jessica Parker and has been voted one of SA’s best and most stylish media personalities on various occasions. She has various business interests, but her focus is on Corporate Social Investment projects which re-invest much needed funds into deserving young people’s education. She has also founded her own Princess Project.

As Master of Ceremonies, she has MC’ed various national and international events (please see “Events” for a synopsis). From the BMW Golf World Final in Phuket, Thailand to the Audi MedCup in Sardinia and Awards of Distinction in Monaco – she truly is a global player with a number of blue-chip companies as her clients. She also does a number of pro-bono events per year for her chosen charities.